zatoicchi
27.07.08, 09:43
TORONTO (AP)—Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray 7-6 (2), 6-3 to reach the final of the Rogers Cup on Saturday night and put himself in line for his seventh title of the year.
He’ll face Nicolas Kiefer, who reached the championship with a 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Gilles Simon on Saturday.
Nadal, who won in Toronto in 2005, won the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. In three career meetings, he’s never dropped a set to Kiefer.
An uncharacteristically aggressive Murray went shot-for-shot with Nadal in the first set, during which both players held serve. It wasn’t until the tiebreak that he flinched. Down 2-6, Murray double-faulted on set point.
He still came out strong in the second set. It took 18 points for Nadal to hold serve in the first game, and when Nadal broke Murray in the fourth game, the gangly Briton broke back in the fifth.
Kiefer reaches final at Rogers Cup (http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=AmtuzGKCHm4YlY.P7oH_Jhc4v7YF?slug=ap-toronto&prov=ap&type=lgns)
He’ll face Nicolas Kiefer, who reached the championship with a 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Gilles Simon on Saturday.
Nadal, who won in Toronto in 2005, won the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. In three career meetings, he’s never dropped a set to Kiefer.
An uncharacteristically aggressive Murray went shot-for-shot with Nadal in the first set, during which both players held serve. It wasn’t until the tiebreak that he flinched. Down 2-6, Murray double-faulted on set point.
He still came out strong in the second set. It took 18 points for Nadal to hold serve in the first game, and when Nadal broke Murray in the fourth game, the gangly Briton broke back in the fifth.
Kiefer reaches final at Rogers Cup (http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=AmtuzGKCHm4YlY.P7oH_Jhc4v7YF?slug=ap-toronto&prov=ap&type=lgns)